Terrorism Unjustified: The Use and Misuse of Political Violence - Paperback

by Vicente Medina (Author)

Vicente Medina challenges common misconceptions and excuses for extreme political violence. Countering such axioms as "one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist" and the "do whatever it takes" attitude toward counter-terrorism, Medina differentiates between justified political violence and unjustifiable terrorism. Surveying terrorism with both historical and contemporary examples, Medina dispels the relativism and emotional responses that have been used by some to justify terrorist acts. Medina draws on philosophical concepts like just war theory while adding social and political science perspectives to contextualize today's terrorism within current international law and moral attitudes.

Author Biography

Vicente Medina is associate professor of philosophy at the Seton Hall University. Among his publications are "Militant Intolerant People: A Challenge to John Rawls' Political Liberalism," Political Studies, vol. 58, no. 3 (2010), "Unconditional vs. Conditional Critics of Terrorist Violence: A Seemingly Endless Debate," Public Affairs Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 4, (2006); "Locke's Militant Liberalism: A Reply to Carl Schmitt's State of Exception," History of Philosophy Quarterly, vol. 19, no. 4 (2002); and Social Contract Theories: Political Obligation or Anarchy? (1990).